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Henri Laurens — Two Mermaids
Henri Laurens

Two Mermaids

1959

Henri Laurens completed Two Mermaids in 1959, the final year of his life, making this original engraving a rare and resonant example of his late graphic work. Printed by Union in Paris, the composition channels the sculptor's lifelong fascination with the female figure and mythological form, translating the volumetric sensibility of his celebrated sculpture into the compressed, linear language of printmaking. The two intertwining figures occupy the picture plane with a fluid, almost musical rhythm, their contours merging and separating in a way that recalls the organic curvature Laurens cultivated across decades of modernist practice. Measuring 24.5 by 31 centimeters, the work is intimate in scale yet substantial in presence, bearing the artist's own signature and carrying the weight of a mature creative intelligence at its final flourishing. Laurens belonged to the innermost circle of the Parisian avant-garde, a close collaborator of Braque and a figure deeply shaped by the Cubist revolution, yet his approach to the human form grew increasingly lyrical and mythic over time. The mermaid as subject offered him a vehicle for exploring themes of transformation, desire, and the boundary between nature and the body, preoccupations that recur throughout his late work. For collectors of twentieth century works on paper, this engraving represents a meaningful opportunity to acquire a signed original by one of the most quietly significant sculptors and graphic artists of the modernist canon. Its provenance is straightforward, its condition warrants close examination in person, and its position within Laurens's career lends it both art historical interest and lasting visual authority.

Medium
Original engraving on paper
Sheet
Signed
Yes
Location
Samhart Gallery, Neuchâtel

For Sale — €200

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About this work

Henri Laurens, Two Mermaids, 1959

Henri Laurens completed Two Mermaids in 1959, the final year of his life, making this original engraving a rare and resonant example of his late graphic work. Printed by Union in Paris, the composition channels the sculptor's lifelong fascination with the female figure and mythological form, translating the volumetric sensibility of his celebrated sculpture into the compressed, linear language of printmaking. The two intertwining figures occupy the picture plane with a fluid, almost musical rhythm, their contours merging and separating in a way that recalls the organic curvature Laurens cultivated across decades of modernist practice. Measuring 24.5 by 31 centimeters, the work is intimate in scale yet substantial in presence, bearing the artist's own signature and carrying the weight of a mature creative intelligence at its final flourishing. Laurens belonged to the innermost circle of the Parisian avant-garde, a close collaborator of Braque and a figure deeply shaped by the Cubist revolution, yet his approach to the human form grew increasingly lyrical and mythic over time. The mermaid as subject offered him a vehicle for exploring themes of transformation, desire, and the boundary between nature and the body, preoccupations that recur throughout his late work. For collectors of twentieth century works on paper, this engraving represents a meaningful opportunity to acquire a signed original by one of the most quietly significant sculptors and graphic artists of the modernist canon. Its provenance is straightforward, its condition warrants close examination in person, and its position within Laurens's career lends it both art historical interest and lasting visual authority.

Medium
Original engraving on paper
Dimensions
sheet: 24.5 x 31 cm
Year
1959
Signed
Hand-signed by the artist
Seen at
Samhart Gallery, Neuchâtel

More works by Henri Laurens

Collected by

Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris